We live in zone 6a and I have been gardening and cooking for years. This blog is an opportunity for me to share with you my success and those failures that come about on occasion. Plus, I want to hear from all the gardeners and bakers and cooks out there and learn from you. Feel free to share your ideas.

I did not use rhubarb as outlined in the recipe, but substituted SaraBeth's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Goya's Guava Paste. The guava paste gave it more of a Spanish or Puerto Rican slant. I used each filling on half of the shortbread. Thus, ending with 2 different bar cookie filings.

Instead of grating the dough by hand, I rolled it into a roll so that it would fit in the food processor tube and used the grating attachment. However, the dough should be frozen for an hour at least before grating. It came out incredibly fluffy, almost like snow.

I pre-baked the bottom crust for about 12 minutes or so and then placed the filling on it.

How easy was it to make? It was a piece of cake. However, I think attempting to grate the dough by hand could be frustrating. Most people found my tip of using the food processor grater the way to go. But remember, make sure that dough is frozen or you will have a mess.

What else do you have to say about this recipe? This recipe has a lot of butter, so I consider this to be a a special occasion bar. It would be great at Christmas.

Have fun viewing the photos.

I picked the fillings up at Jungle Jim's and Food Fare

Rolled dough just before freezing

Guava Paste

I sliced the guava paste in about 1/4 inch slices

The first layer of dough after it was pre-baked

This is how I divided up the filling to create two different bar cookies.

The Hungarian Shortbread just after I sifted confectioner sugar on it while it was still hot.

I wanted to stop by Gear's Nursery to pick up a Mortgage Lifter Tomato plant since they were the only place nearby who had them. I never stopped in at Gear's in the Spring because I guess I didn't need to when Delhi Garden Center was up the street from us. Delhi moved--boooo who--but I have found other places such as Rahn's, Natorp's and now Gear's .

No gardener can ever go in and buy just a tomato plant. I walked into their nursery and it was astounding. My jaw dropped and the owner must have thought I had never been in a nursery before. I was just too excited. They have stunning plants and they grow most of their own. That is when I saw it. The Pink Parfait Peony. It is a double peony and I tried to back away, but it kept calling for me. The owner asked if he could help me and that is when we got into the peony conversation. I love peonies. So in the end, you guessed it, I now have a peony to plant. It has 5 blooms that have not opened yet, but I will take a picture of it when it does. Here is an example of the flower. Very pretty.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Since this next weekend will be my big planting expedition, I have started to harden off my tomatoes, basil, and eggplant today. My tomatoes have blossoms on them already which sort of surprised me.I really hadn't noticed that before.

I looked at the 7 day weather forecast and the highs will be in the 80's with one day in the 90s. Incredible. This is atypical for early May.

Right now I am listening to Denny McKeown's gardening show. on the radio.He gives straight forward advice and can be a hoot to listen too. I have become a convert to radio garden programs for 2 reasons: there are zero gardening shows on TV, and a lot of the radio programs are on podcasts. So I can load them on my I-Pod and listen to them in the car when I am driving to and from work. Unfortunately Denny McKeown is not on a podcast, so I listen to him live on Saturday mornings.

The frost blankets will be coming off today and it looks as if they will no longer be needed for this season. The garden is doing fabulously--amazing. The long term weather report indicates rain on and off for the week, but it really will be warming up: even up to the 80's. Wow.

Going out to the garden and everyone have a great weekend. As promised, pictures coming soon, but it is just too cloudy today with rain to take them.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

I just came in from laying row cover over the beds for what I hope is the last frost alert. Everything is doing extremely well and last night's rain gave the garden an extra boost. I can hardly wait to start planting the rest of the garden starting next Friday.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

There is nothing like rain for the garden. I can water the garden with the hose, but the plants just don't respond as they do when it rains. Tonight it has been raining since 6pm and it should continue to do so all night. As far as I am concerned that is perfect.

The weather report for next week looks pretty spectacular and my plan is to plant the tomatoes and the rest of the garden starting next Friday: basil, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, melons, beans. I am sure that I am missing something. But I think you get the general idea.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Next week I will post a detailed post with pictures concerning one of the May recipes for TWD:BWJ which is Hungarian Shortbread. What I can tell you so far is that it is a heavenly recipe and very rich--can we say lots of butter. Plus it is easy to make. It is one of those recipes that I would make once a year to share with a crowd., perhaps as a Holiday or Christmas bar.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

There is a small garden center next to our grocery store--Jungle Jims. I told my husband to go ahead and start the grocery shopping while I stepped into the garden center. On my way in I said to him--I am just going to look. Who am I fooling. What gardener only looks. Well I came out with a Black Krim tomato plant for a $1 and 3 packs of hard to find seeds from Botanical Interest: Endive ( which I use in Italian Wedding Soup), Radicchio and Kale Italian Lacinato. I am saving these seeds to plant in the fall for late fall and winter harvest.

Frankly this little garden center is starting to really cater to the gardeners by carrying the hard to find items. One more new found gem.

Weather reports are indicating we will have a frost or strong possibility of a freeze. Going out to put the freeze blankets on my raised beds --now. It would be a shame to loose what looks so great now.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Here are the responses so far concerning "what is your favorite tomato?"

Tami at $500 Tomato responded with
I don't eat tomatoes (shocker!) but SM loves them. We're still in the process of
discovery but last years Baker Creek German Red Strawberry was a hit with him. I
noticed they didn't offer it last year as I need to save the seeds for sure this
year.I'm trying several new ones this year and am most excited for the
Amish Paste. I hear lots of wonderful things about it on everybody's blogs. A
good paste tomato is hard to find!

Oh my. So many choices. I love brandywines
- pink, red, black and yellow, Black Krim and Cherokee Purple - they are first
to get planted. Then I have Yellow Pear for salad and snacking, Amish Paste and
San Marzano for sauces (very meaty and little seed). This year I'm also trying
about 20 new varieties to see if I'll like them - Mortgage Lifter, Rainbow,
Black Pineapple (Ananas Noire) and Purple Calabash on my "can't wait to try
them" list.

First, I hope all have a great Earth Day today. The other exciting news is that I have the day off today. Yippee. What a joy. I am listening to last week's podcast of the Splendid Table (NPR), which is another one of my joys. I love my podcasts.

The plan for the rest of the day is to of course to do some gardening. Looking out the window at the garden from the second floor of our home it appears that we will have lettuce very soon. Perhaps this weekend. I hope to get over to Natorp's Garden Center since they have Pine Fines Soil Conditioner on sale. I like to add it into the raised beds.

My eggplant and basil seedlings were transplanted into larger containers and according to the 25 day weather map, it looks like I will be able to plant them 2 weeks earlier than usual: perhaps May 1 or so. I stopped at Gear's yesterday to see what they had in stock specific to unique tomato plants. The owner said that next Thursday is the day to come in. You have to get their earlier because their tomato plants go fast. They carry unique plants.

Finally, if I am lucky, I can get a pedicure if they have an opening. Well it is sandal weather--have a great day all!!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

I have just won the versatile blogging award from Auntie Treats AKA Amanda. All I can say is wow and what an honor, especially as a rather new blogger. Thanks again Amanda. Through this blog I have been able to come in contact with people from all over the world so that we can share thoughts and ideas. It is a great way to over come some of the challenges as a gardener and a baker/cook.

.

As Amanda said on her blog--The award is basically a way
to share some blog loving with other blogs you admire and help other people to
learn about them too. There are some rules about this award and here they
are:

Add
the award to your blog

Thank the blogger who gave it to you

Mention 7
random things about yourself

List the
rules

Award to 15
bloggers

Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment
on their blogs or on Facebook

Here are 15 blogs I have
discovered and really like. Although It was really hard to choose, because there are so many great blogs.

I found this cake to have a subtle taste of lemon and not overly sweet. As much as I love Starbuck's Lemon Loaf Cake, this loaf is at the other end of the spectrum. It is less sweet and overpowering. You want to have a slice with coffee or tea. Plus, it was very easy to make. And yes I would make this again. I might add a little lemon juice instead of just the zest. However, you could take liberties by adding a lemon glace, lemon curd or strawberries on the side.

If you are interested in the recipe, the hosts for the month have it posted at the website.
Truc of Treats and Michelle of The Beauty of
Life.

Perhaps next time I would be able to use Meyer Lemons from my tree. How fun would that be?

Sunday, April 15, 2012

It has been so warm that we have weeds coming up. So I spent time dealing with them when they are small. You know-a step in time says nine or more.... I also transplanted the kale. This is the first time that I have tried kale. Cute little plants.

Kale

Foxglove

Photo Courtesy of Swallow Tail Gardens

I also went to Rahn's Greenhouse and could not resist purchasing 2 foxgloves. The photo I took was taken straight down and does not really show off the flowers best features. But it is a beauty, plus deer hate the plant. Can't beat that.

All I can say is the carrots that I bemoaned not germinating are now starting to do exactly that. I was just out in the garden and sure enough they are coming through for me. I will try not to complain if I find out thinning is a challenging chore. What can I say. The life of a gardener. Now I am going back out to plant my kale.

It is going to be 84 degrees and sunny today. It rained most of the day yesterday and today should be perfect. I could not ask for more. I am going to grab my cup of coffee and take it all in, and of course do a little gardening.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

I love listening to John Dromgoole because he is an organic gardener and advisor and he has such a calming voice. That said, he is a little info about him.

John
Dromgoole hosts the longest, continuously running, organic gardening talk show
in the United States. He has been on KLBJ AM f 590 for the 25 years and has shared his extensive knowledge on organic gardening with his listeners. His show, Gardening Naturally, takes the non-chemical approach to gardening,

On Saturdays from 9a.m. to
11a.m., listeners call in with their questions about problems with trees,
shrubs, lawns, flowers and vegetable gardens. The show on Sunday, from 8a.m. to
10a.m..

I just got the onion sets in and it started to rain to the point where I had to come in. So no pictures today--perhaps on Sunday. I was able to fertilize a tad, but I really did not complete the job. All in all the garden is looking good, but I did not see any carrots yet.

So now I am listening to Ron Wilson at 550 on podcast. He has a very informative 3 hour gardening program every Saturday.

Today is the day for the onion sets to go in. It is supposed to rain early this afternoon, so I want to get them in this morning after I run my errands.

I re-seeded the carrots last week and I still do not see any germination occurring. I will give it another couple of weeks and if there is zero germination, I will try one more time. I am a tad frustrated with the carrot situation. The cabbages are looking great, along with the peas. I will take pictures later and post.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Recently I thought what happened to the old gardening shows such as Crockett's Victory Garden that used to be on WGBH out of Boston. I would watch it every Saturday years ago. Tried as I might, I could not find DVDs that I could purchase. The current Victory Garden is ok, but it certainly is not what the original started out as.

Then I recalled this fabulous show called the 3000 Mile Gardener that WGBH showed. It took the book and created a series out of it. I thought wouldn't it be great if they would show re-runs of this. Then my mind wondered to what Leslie Land the author was doing today. I found her fascinating blog that I thought you might be interested in.http://leslieland.com/2012/03/building-an-outdoor-bread-oven-part-two/

I came across a very unusual spider who was hidden in the row cover in my raised bed.. I had to look it up and discovered it was a wolf spider. It is supposed to be a fast runner, but this one seemed rather sluggish. However, it was easily 2 inches long.

Wolf Spiders

These hunting spiders are fast runners that will chase their prey. Wolf
spiders are hairy and often large, up to 1-3/8 inches long, sometimes confused
with tarantulas. Their legs are long and spiny. Many are dark brown.
Wolf spiders may hunt day and night. They usually occur outdoors, but may
wander indoors in search of prey. They tend to stay at or near floor level. They
typically construct web retreats in sheltered sites.
Females carry their large, globular egg sac attached to spinnerets under the
abdomen. Upon hatching, the spiderlings climb onto their mother's back and stay
there several days or more before dispersing.
Wolf spiders frequently alarm homeowners because of their large size and
rapid movements. Wolf spiders are not aggressive, but may bite if handled.

Just came in from spreading compost and cow manure and I need a glass of ice tea. What a work out. Also planted 90 iris bulbs that I found in the garage. I hope they take off. Now time for the ice tea!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Meyer Lemon is still coming along well. I plan to set it outdoors mid May and I hope being outdoors will help it grow stronger and larger. Also wanted to share my mint that over wintered in the pot without any assistance from me. However, it was a very mild winter. I love the smell of mint.

Just planted more jersey knight asparagus. The asparagus I planted a few years ago will be cut tomorrow to have with our dinner of lamb chops.

Also planted swiss chard and reseeded with spinach which did not come up the first time around. I have never had trouble with spinach before. Also speaking of trouble, this is the first time I have planted carrots since I was a kid. They did not germinate, so I have reseeded these again. We shall see how this goes!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Have a blessed Easter, and this time of year I also enjoy making a cookie that seems appropriate for the Easter season. I found the recipe for Biscotti al Mais or Cornmeal Cookies at Diary for a Tomato blog. We had instant corneal for polenta in the cupboard and thought I would give it a try in the recipe instead of the corn flour it called for. They turned out great. I left out the ground cloves and cut the cinnamon back to 1 teaspoon. These are adult cookies: not super sweet. I am still getting used to my Canon Rebel DSL, but having fun in the process. Plus, I just bought another lens: telephoto.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

If you have never tried coloring Easter eggs naturally, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups water

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Your choice of coloring ingredients (below)

Hard boiled eggs

Coloring
ingredients

Yellow1 teaspoon
ground turmeric

Blue/Purple2 cups
blueberries, crushed

Pink/Red2 cups
roughly chopped raw beets

Put water and your choice of coloring ingredient
into a small pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and
simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, get rid of solids,
then stir in vinegar. Set aside to let cool until warm or room temperature. To
color eggs, dip completely in dye, turning often, until desired
color. It may take awhile to reach the desired color.

Also consider using onion skins to create yellow eggs, red cabbage for a lovely blue egg, pureed spinach leaves for green, and even grape juice for purple.

For those of you who have tried this, what other fruits, vegetables or spices have you used?

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Just planted the broccoli raab transplants and also planted seeds in the raised bed for succession planting. Here is a recipe that we make. It is very easy.

Sausage with Broccoli Raab and Penne

Basil and oregano, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil or more if needed

1 pound ground sausage

1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces

1 pound penne

1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup chopped onion

Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

1. Saute garlic and onion in the 1/4 cup olive oil until translucent. Then add sausage and saute until lightly brown. Add the basil and oregano. You may want to start out with a 1/2 teaspoon each of the dry version.

2.. Saute broccoli raab in a separate pan with a 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Cook penne according to package
directions.

5. In a large serving dish,
combine pasta, broccoli rabe and onion-garlic-sausage mixture. Toss well. You may want to drizzle a little olive oil while tossing. Top with
grated cheese. Makes about 6 servings.